1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Really appealing to me personally, this is all aromatic old-school Bordeaux refinement, Cab-driven wild berry scents and savory smoky elements, very tweedy.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Quite a bit more immediately luxurious than everything else on the table (though I'm a Cab Franc fan and biased). Cassis, chocolate, tobacco, all very dark and lush, the tannins fine and creamy. There's a savory element underneath it all, and a real vein of acidity woven into the whole.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Easy to like, this shows a smoky raspberry and currant leaf profile that feels familiar to me for Carbonnieux, with a very soft structure and nice savory elements, without veering into overtly green. Tannins are a little drying but this is meant for food, afterall.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Interesting to see so much Malbec in a blend, this was showing plummy (not saying that's the Malbec!) and soft, with a certain richness. Open, toasty, a little leafy, this was easily to like and though it lacked some concentration and definition, will make good drinking I think. The classic "restaurant" Bordeaux

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Highly aromatic nose of classic grass and grapefruit here showing the high SB, but with a certain richness to it that had me confused at first. On the palate this certainly had plenty of driving acidity, but felt very focused on concentration and texture, which may be bode well, though in the moment I found it a bit of a head-scratcher.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Highly aromatically expressive, layers and layers of every citrus fruit I could think of. Linear, crisp, and phenolic, I might have guessed there was even more SB in this. Would be interesting to follow but if you like a punch white it might be hard to not just drink it all.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

This was as ripe as you'd want in in this vintage - still back up by tremendous acidity to be sure - but felt relatively quiet and I think will just need some time in bottle to flesh out.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Extremely delicious but very compact and really best put in the cellar I think.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Just amazingly complex, with real volume, a sense of layers. Very ripe citrus fruits here, a touch of lanolin, distinct mineraltiy and a long, grippy finish full of energy and promise. Easily the best I can recall from here.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Again really bright, zippy, crisp, an extra dimension over previous years but not as much of a leap over its base quality level as some of its neighbors. Lightly pithy and grippy but just moderate volume. Still, a really good result.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Complex and energetic, with lush fruit, salty minerals, a subtle touch of oak, long and commanding. This feels really filled out, everything at a just-so level of ripeness. May be the best vintage of this wine I've had.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

Not the only time I thought this going through the dry whites, but I really can't recall the last time I had such a good Bouscaut Blanc. The slight waxiness of the high semillon content really very fresh and classy, backed up by a nice salty crushed rock element and good weight. Top notch, playing with the big guns here.

1/23/2024 - yofog wrote:

One of the most immediately delicious Carbonnieux I can recall in years, very brightly aromatic and forward, really showing its (imo) Sauv element (with some lime that's really probably the semillon). There's mid-palate concentration, and a good clean, confident finish, this feels all very together and energetic.

12/27/2023 - yofog wrote:

A real contrast to the '21, this has a bit more color, and a profile much more on the primary fruit. Ripe strawberry, tart blackberry, a hint of game and soil in the background maybe but this is ultimately a generous and friendly example of Sancerre rouge, with depth, ripe fruit, and fine tannins. Great balance.

12/27/2023 - yofog wrote:

Smells great, so much spice and tart strawberry, almost Gevrey-like. Has a quality I usually call mustard-seed, which I think is related to what is also called game or woodsmoke, or maybe these qualities tend to go hand in hand. Idk, all our receptors are a bit different, right? This is light-bodied and pale, as you would expect, but there's a sneaky sweetness to the ethereal fruit, and it does not feel lean at all.

12/27/2023 - yofog wrote:

The new version of this name, a Fine Champagne marked "15" indicating minimum age. Very dry, old-school style on the nose, at first hazelnut and vine cane, with air it reads more spicy, with hints of chocolate. Very dry character on the palate as well, highly minerally and fine. A few days later I had a piece of ginger/hazelnut chocolate with it and it struck me that the two things tasted almost identical. Really excellent Cognac.

12/27/2023 - yofog wrote:

Only 12.5%, but quite dark and ripe-feeling fruit. Intense on the attack, polished purple fruit, hints of Willamette undergrowth. Low to moderate tannin, a little coarse. Lots and lots of VA, a bit much for me personally, and I think it's the real driver of the energy and balance here. A fun wine all the same.

9/18/2023 - yofog wrote:

Somewhat deep color, had us slightly worried, but this is quite fresh on nose and palate. Has some oxidative characterstics but not out of line for dry Chenin of its age. Shows bright and vibrant on nose and palate, orchard fruit (not particularly bruised), dried lime, oyster shell, with real concentration of flavor in the midpalate and a cleansing finish. One taster called it fino-like which I can see - chalky, saline, full-bodied with that subtle, controlled oxidation. Gorgeous wine. Paired with a seared tuna dish which might have solidified the fino-like impression.

3/15/2023 - yofog Likes this wine:

Substantial tannins here, but noble and not getting too much in the way of the wine. They make a line right through from start to finish and the wine shows serious cellar potential. Loads of dark fruits here, the cab franc element very present, the wine reads like St Emilion. Everything in its place - good year for this wine.

3/15/2023 - yofog Likes this wine:

Reductive for sure, in the new wave, Walter Scott-esque sense, but not aggressively so and it blows off in an hour or so. Loads of berries beneath, tart and restrained, with that reductive character showing in a flinty/marine quality to the fruit. Palate is full of retronasal aromatics, light-ish in body but with the tannins making themselves known on the close. An old-school forest floor aspect emerges later in the day. Super pretty.

2/20/2023 - yofog wrote:

Faint, hazelnut aroma, a little too cold. With time, apple and a squeeze of lime are added, and a bare trace of oak. The palate is light and fresh but with a certain concentration, and something to the flavor profile that almost speaks of dehydrated, or in any case very concentrated, late-season berries. Not overly complex but good, wholesome, characterful, and compares favorably to similarly priced Macons.

2/20/2023 - yofog wrote:

Deep color typical of Savigny, rich purple, saturated. Powerful and very primary nose, all berries. On the palate, well-structured, high in tannin, but round and with little apparent astringency. Certainly lives up to the characterization of 2020 reds as "rich and concentrated." Although there is flavor in reserve here, to be developed in time, there is plenty to enjoy now and does not come off as austere -- quite the opposite. My label (US) declares 14.5%, but unlike the other taster I do not detect any. I had this over 2 days and would say that after maybe 5/6 hours, I begin to detect a hint of VA -- well within normal levels, not a problem or flaw level, but there if you look for it and was really nicely intensifying this vibrant black raspberry quality.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Smells like salami, you know, the real thing. Poised and serene on the palate. Not showy tonight but it's all there.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

corked!

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Still a really youthful color, with a powerful nose. Honestly just blows away the Ragnaie - not a fair competition. This is profound. Still unfolding. Chocolate, herbs, chalky mineral.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Fully mature and mellow, with plenty of bright cedary fruit. Not fading, but structurally this is the time to drink.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Just spectacular. So much brightness running through it. Stately and perfect. WOTN.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Not especially long or energetic, but this has those juicy fruits, hint of mint, and effortless lightness.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Feels fully mature to me, but I can see it cruising along for another 10, too

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Bright, young, pale, this seems closed and a little pinched. Long, though, will leave another 5.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Some petrol starting to creep in, but loads of fruit, too. Lots of material and a lomg finish. Possibly heading into a dumb phase.

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Substantial, even slightly creamy, with a real vein of energy running through. Very aromatic, tropical. A favorite in this lineup. Lots of potential

1/10/2023 - yofog wrote:

Sooo acidic. Once it opens up, very lime juice, a little lean, fun, but not for everyone. Intense

12/15/2022 - yofog wrote:

For 2020, this is really a different wine, *not Napa appellated*. Some good, wholesome toasty oak on the nose, for sure. Not OTT, though. Plum, red currant, and leaf. Smells real. Palate could be a bit finer, but feels unadulterated, full but not fake lush. I like this.

12/15/2022 - yofog wrote:

I'm as skeptical of celebrity wines as the next person, but D Wade seems earnest, and has hired people I have a lot of respect for and whose other wines I have loved (Matt Naumann of Newfound, and Jonathan Keyes of...so many things, but especially POE). This is 95% Chenin, 5% Viognier, from Clarksburg, with malo, but all stainlesss. A little restrained at first, but this has good texture -- medium-bodied, round, cut with a subtle acidity. Some ripe orchard fruit comes out, fresh, clean. Hints of orange blossom in the background. Had this in the fridge for a few days and it stayed solid.

12/15/2022 - yofog wrote:

An interesting take on Bordeaux blanc, from the other side of the river. Ch Beauséjour (this one...there are seemingly dozens!) has been farming organically and working naturally for a long time, but the kids have started their own side project here, to make their mark. Older vines, but approachable wines. The white is generally 50-60% Semillon, the rest split between SB, Muscadelle, and Ugni blanc. There's not much oak presence here (mostly tank, but some older demi muids too), the primary note on the nose is Semillon stone fruit, and yeast esters, a hint of tartness almost reminding me of gueuze. Despite the implied tartness the palate is friendly, engaging, but fairly mild in terms of acid. A refreshing zip to the finish but an almost mellow mid-palate. Though estery, does not come off as unclean wine and the fruit really is very expressive, but the focus here is texture and structure over fruit or wood. Cool wine for low 20s usd.

9/20/2022 - yofog wrote:

This is now mature, in the sweet spot. Sophisticated, cedary and mellow.

9/20/2022 - yofog wrote:

Pale golden but not unduly so. Elegant nose of dried fruit, barely a hint of petrol. Really very clean. On the palate rich, dry, savory, with a quiet density. Finish is seamless. Can't ask much more.

9/20/2022 - yofog wrote:

Such a different feel than the Halgans, not the power or intensity imo, but it's very pretty and a little more ready. Green fruit on the nose, tropical, orange, yeast.

9/20/2022 - yofog wrote:

Great intensity here, profoundly mineral, needs time

9/20/2022 - yofog wrote:

Slightly golden on the nose, very pretty, on the palate racy, superfine, closing long and phenolically astringent, promising. Fun now if you like it snappy, but I think there's good upside here over the next 10.

9/20/2022 - yofog wrote:

Really convincing - nose is white fruit, touch of green, hints of tropical. Palate is airy, fine, closing long and snappy and dry.

1/1/2022 - yofog Likes this wine:

Full-bodied, biscuit/marzipan, pure fruit wrapped in a haze of slight, positive oxidation. Even a little chalky still at this age. Very fine mousse. Vinous but fine and glides on the palate. A dream.

1/1/2022 - yofog Likes this wine:

Liking the brett here, and good dark berry fruit with real concentration, grippy, tart, long and salivating. Expressive and has material.

8/18/2021 - yofog Likes this wine:

A ripe vintage for this wine, I think, almost verging on heavy. The honey is more forward, followed by stone fruit, then that lemon balm quality, and a slight hit of phenolics on the finish. Not as aromatic as I'd like and a little clumsy, but it's still solid qpr and a characterful, good wine for the money.

6/26/2021 - yofog Likes this wine:

Not nearly as green as I was expecting, really just a hint in the background. Loads of tart blue/purple fruit up front, very juicy, but soft, with remarkably supple, silky tannins and a real composed ease about it. Couple hours of air later, the tobacco has come to the fore. Has a Chinon vibe to it in a way.

6/26/2021 - yofog Likes this wine:

Really beautiful nose right from the get go. Deep, brooding, sun-baked cherry, tobacco, dusty soil, a hint of blood. Palate is full and broad, long and grippy. Has weight and a natural density at the core, gives that sense of warmth that always marks good Montalcino for me. Tannins are slightly rustic but not tough, and have engagement and charm. Promising as well as immediately wonderful, and an incredible bargain - I would be happy to choose this over many BdM at twice the price.

6/18/2021 - yofog Likes this wine:

Substantially more...substantial, than the last vintage I had (14), this has real depth, and a soft texture. Reminds of the Jura to no small degree. Little tannin, but enough, and very fine. Fruit is very black cherry cola, palate is weightless. Supremely balanced, elegant wine with length and sense of place. The best deal going in coteaux right now.

6/18/2021 - yofog Likes this wine:

Aromatically very expressive, with almost a gose/berliner-weisse level of yeasty tartness apparent on the nose. Northerly, north-facing natural wine, after all. If you're prepared for the intensity of the acidity, it really does carry some grand cru concentration of fruit, and some real finesse. The steely, oyster shell minerality of this has to be experienced to be believed. Terroir over variety for sure, at the moment.

6/18/2021 - yofog Likes this wine:

This is serious business, and it is immediately apparent even if a bit reticent off the cork. With air it really deepens, takes on a lemon oil and chalk quality, and just smells *good*. Palate is vinous and has some concentration but is crisp and defined. The wood is essentially undetectable as such, unlike the 09 (delicious in its own way). Came away as a favorite after this tasting.